Li Wangyang's death led to protests in Hong Kong. Relatives and friends say the veteran Chinese activists was too frail to hang himself. Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP

Human rights groups have warned of a crackdown on relatives and friends of a veteran Chinese activists who questioned his strange death, after one was arrested for inciting subversion of state power.

They believe Zhu Chengzhi is being punished for flagging the suspicious circumstances of his friend Li Wangyang's death.

Li was found dead in his hospital room in June, two days after the anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. He had served more than two decades in jail for his role in campaigning for workers' rights before he was released last year.

Officials in Shaoyang, Hunan province, initially said he had killed himself, but later described his death as an accident.

Police promised to investigate after thousands signed an online petition and tens of thousands demonstrated in Hong Kong, but concluded again that it was suicide.

Relatives and friends said Li showed no signs he was suicidal, that his feet were on the floor when he was found and that they believed him physically incapable of hanging himself because of his poor health.

"In the early stages, when Hunan provincial authorities agreed to conduct an investigation and make public their findings, we were somewhat encouraged. [Now they have] resorted to the same old tactics of closing the case by trampling on the rights of the family and others," said Catherine Baber, director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific programme.

"This is a horrific case. After two decades in prison, Li Wangyang was left with his health devastated. He died in highly suspicious circumstances under state care. For his family to disappear and now for his friend to be prosecuted, it appears as a whistleblower, is truly shocking."

Friends have been unable to contact Li's sister and brother-in-law since shortly after his death. Officials have said the couple have chosen not to speak to people. Other activists were detained.

"Zhu's arrest has ripped away any remaining pretence of official justice for Li. Instead of launching a 'transparent' inquiry as the government had originally promised, it has gone after Li's family and friends, silencing and punishing them," said Wang Songlian of the Chinese Human Rights Defenders Network (CHRD).

Zhu was first held in June, but his wife has now been told he has been formally arrested. Inciting subversion of state power, a charge often used against activists and dissidents, carries a jail term of up to 15 years, although in practice sentences rarely exceed 10 years.

CHRD said Zhu is held at the Shaoyang city detention centre, where phone calls rang unanswered. Police referred queries to a number that was out of service.

One account suggested Zhu was arrested because he took pictures of the death scene and shared them online.

The South China Morning Post, quoting another activist, said Zhu was initially detained because he refused to sign a statement disowning comments he made questioning the official account of Li's death.

Immediately after his friend died, he told the Hong Kong newspaper: "I simply don't think it was a suicide because Li was the kind of guy who would never commit suicide, even if a knife was held against his neck."

A friend of pro-democracy activist Li Wangyang who challenged a police finding that Li committed suicide in a hospital has been formally arrested by police on subversion charges, according to a police document and a fellow activist.

Zhu Chengzhi, 62, was charged with “inciting subversion of state power” by police in Shaoyang, Hunan, according to an official document posted online. The police document, dated July 25, said he is being held at the Shaoyang police detention centre.

[...]The formal arrest of Zhu, the first of about a dozen of Li’s associates who have spoken out about his suspicious death, has sparked fears that the others could face the same fate. Many are being held in police detention or are under house arrest.

[...]Zhu, who went to school with Li, met Li for the last time on June 4 and told the South China Morning Post on the day Li died: “I simply don’t think it was a suicide because Li was the kind of guy who would never commit suicide, even if a knife was held against his neck.”

Zhu was among the first to dispute the claim that Li committed suicide by hanging himself from the bars of a hospital window. He videotaped Li’s body before it was removed, showing his feet were touching the floor and there was a strip of cloth around his neck, raising suspicions about it being suicide.

Amnesty International says Zhu was taken away by Daxiang district police on June 9. His wife, Zeng Qinglian, next day received a notice from authorities to say Zhu was to serve 10 days’ administrative detention for disrupting public order and would be released on June 18.

She believed that Zhu was detained for refusing to sign an undertaking not to call for an independent investigation into Li’s death.

On June 18, rather than being released Zhu was transferred to a detention center in Shuangqing district in Hunan, though he had not been charged.

Dozens rallied outside the central government liaison office yesterday to protest at the arrest of activist Zhu Chengzhi.

[...]Chanting and carrying banners, the activists marched from Western police station.

[...]The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized the rally, urged Beijing to release Zhu and another rights activist, Xiao Yong, who was last month sentenced to 1 years of labor re-education.

[...]Suspicion over Li’s death sent tens of thousands of Hong Kong people to the streets in June.

Verna Yu Aug 10, 2012A friend of pro-democracy activist Li Wangyang who challenged a police finding that Li committed suicide in a hospital has been formally arrested by police on subversion charges, according to a police document and a fellow activist.

Zhu Chengzhi, 62, was charged with "inciting subversion of state power" by police in Shaoyang, Hunan, according to an official document posted online. The police document, dated July 25, said he is being held at the Shaoyang police detention centre.

Zhu's wife could not be reached for comment yesterday but fellow activist Wang Lihong, who spoke to her a few days ago, confirmed the authenticity of the document. Formal arrest is often the first step towards prosecution.

The formal arrest of Zhu, the first of about a dozen of Li's associates who have spoken out about his suspicious death, has sparked fears that the others could face the same fate. Many are being held in police detention or are under house arrest.

Li, 62 - a nearly blind and deaf dissident who served a total of 21 years behind bars for his activism in Hunan in support of the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement in 1989 - was found dead in a hospital ward in Shaoyang on June 6, four days after Hong Kong Cable Television broadcast a defiant interview with the labour activist.

His family and friends - including Zhu - have refused to accept the police explanation that he hanged himself in his hospital ward. His death came two days after the 23rd anniversary of the June 4 crackdown.

The Communist Party's top official in Hunan, Zhou Qiang, insisted Li's apparent suicide was "crystal clear with verified evidence".

Wang said local officials bore a grudge against Zhu because he filmed the scene of Li's suspicious death at the hospital ward and posted the video online.

Zhu, who went to school with Li, met Li for the last time on June 4 and told the South China Morning Poston the day Li died: "I simply don't think it was a suicide because Li was the kind of guy who would never commit suicide, even if a knife was held against his neck."

Wang said police ordered Zhu to serve 10 days of administrative detention from June 8 and he was then taken into the Shaoyang police detention centre for "criminal detention".

She said Zhu was initially detained because he refused to sign a statement disowning statements he made to the media that cast doubt on the official version of Li's death.

Calls to Shaoyang's Public Security Bureau and the police detention centre went unanswered yesterday.

"It's a made-up charge, everyone is suspicious about Li's death, [the police] are just taking it out on Zhu," she said. Wang herself is under surveillance.

Wang Songlian, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said: "Instead of launching a [more thorough] investigation into the death, the authorities are going after his family and friends - this case is emblematic of the deteriorating state of China's human rights."

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

On 9 August 2012, the wife of human rights defender Mr Zhu Chengzhi, received official notice from the authorities in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, that her husband was being charged with 'inciting subversion of state power'

It is thought that the charges relate to Zhu Chengzhi's questioning of the official version of events regarding the death of his friend and fellow human rights defender Mr Li Wangyang in June 2012. Zhu Chengzhi is reportedly being held incommunicado in a detention centre in Shuangqing District, Shaoyang City.

Death of Li Wangyang

Following the death of Li Wangyang in a hospital in Shaoyang City on 6 June 2012, Zhu Chengzhi circulated photographs online which called into question the official explanation of Li Wangyang's death as suicide. The photographs showed Li Wangyang's body with his feet planted on the ground and his face free from any signs of distortion, with a piece of cloth slung around his neck and tied to the window. Li Wangyang was in very poor health at the time of his death, and in addition to Zhu Chengzhi, his family questioned how Li Wangyang, who had difficulty walking, would be able to hang himself.

Administrative Detention

On 9 June 2012 Zhu Chengzhi was detained by police in Shaoyang City after reportedly refusing to sign a document guaranteeing he would stop questioning the causes of Li Wangyang's death. Zhu Chengzhi was sentenced to a ten day period of administrative detention for 'disrupting social order'. On 18 June 2012, the date he was due to be released, authorities informed Zhu Chengzhi's family that he had been transferred to a detention centre while his case was investigated further. He has remained in detention since then. The new charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' reflect an escalation in the seriousness with which the authorities are treating his case.

Front Line Defenders believes that the detention of Zhu Chengzhi and the charge being brought against him are directly linked to his legitimate human rights work, particularly his efforts to establish the cause of Li Wangyang's death.

Dozens rallied outside the central government liaison office yesterday to protest at the arrest of activist Zhu Chengzhi.

Zhu was a close friend of democracy activist and labor rights champion Li Wangyang, who is said to have committed suicide on June 6.

Chanting and carrying banners, the activists marched from Western police station.

Taking advantage of the Olympics mood, some stuck plastic "gold medals" outside the office, suggesting that mainland authorities are champions when it comes to suppressing human rights activists.

Police kept a close watch on protesters, and officers on several occasions warned them not to try climbing the iron gate at the liaison office.

Zhu is now under arrest in Shaoyang, Hunan, on a charge of instigating subversion in an attempt to topple the government. Such a serious charge may lead to a long spell in prison.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized the rally, urged Beijing to release Zhu and another rights activist, Xiao Yong, who was last month sentenced to 1 years of labor re-education.

They also demanded that authorities stop monitoring members of Li's family.

Protesters said blame for attempting to topple the government should instead be pinned on Shaoyang police for producing faked investigation reports and arresting rights activists.

Findings were that the near-blind Li, 62, hanged himself in a Shaoyang hospital room, and that was upheld by a review of the case in July.

If the suicide finding was true, protesters argued yesterday, there was no reason as to why Li's family should be incommunicado so long after his death.

Zhu, also 62, was among the first to dispute the claim Li committed suicide. He videotaped and took pictures of Li before his body was taken from the hospital. It showed Li's feet on the floor and a strip of cloth around his neck attached to a window bar.

Soon after that action Zhu was placed under administrative detention for 10 days for disrupting social order. He reportedly refused to sign a document promising not to question the circumstances surrounding Li's death. He has been held since then.

Suspicion over Li's death sent tens of thousands of Hong Kong people to the streets in June.

Zhu Chengzhi, a 62 year-old human rights activist, has been formally charged with ‘inciting subversion of state power’ after being detained on 9 June. On 18 June, he was transferred to a detention facility in Hunan province, south-central China, where is being held incommunicado.

On 9 August, Zhu Chengzhi’s wife, Zeng Jinlian, received a notice from the Shaoyang City People’s Procuratorate stating that Zhu Chengzhi has been officially charged with ‘inciting subversion of state power’. Zhu Chengzhi was taken away by national security personnel in Shaoyang city on 9 June and was sentenced to administrative detention for 10 days. While his family was anticipating his release, on 18 June, he was transferred to a detention facility in Shuangqing District, Shaoyang city, Hunan province and has since been held incommunicado. As no-one has heard from him since 9 June, his health condition is unknown.

According to Zhu Chengzhi’s friend and fellow activist, Wang Lihong, the reason why Zhu Chengzhi was charged with ‘inciting subversion of state power’ is because he was found taking pictures at the scene of Li Wangyang’s death and was disseminating those pictures through the internet. Li Wangyang was a prominent dissident who was found dead on 6 June in a hospital in Daxiang district in Shaoyang city, Hunan province, where he was receiving treatment. The local authorities maintain that Li Wangyang’s death was a suicide.The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. On 11 June, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets in Hong Kong to demand a formal investigation into the circumstances of Li Wangyang’s death.

Please write immediately in English, Chinese or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to drop the charge against Zhu Chengzhi and release him immediately and unconditionally;

Calling on the authorities to ensure that Zhu Chengzhi is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment while in custody;

Calling on the authorities to ensure Zhu Chengzhi has access to his family, legal representation of his choosing and any medical attention he may require.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO:

�

Chief Procurator

GONG Jiahe

Hunan Provincial People’s Procuratorate

410001 Furong District

No.386 Ziweilu

People's Republic of China

Salutation: Dear Chief Procurator

Premier

WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli

The State Council General Office

2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100017

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 6596 1109

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 191/12. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/020/2012/en

�

URGENT ACTION

CHINESE ACTIVIST HELD INCOMMUNICADO

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Zhu Chengzhi is one of the activists who have been subjected to enforced disappearance, arbitrarily detained, intimidated or harassed for publicly demanding an independent investigation into the death of veteran human rights activist Li Wangyang. On 6 June, Li Wangyang’s body was found in a hospital ward in Daxiang District People’s Hospital in Shaoyang city, where he had been receiving treatment for serious illnesses since his release from prison in May 2011. The local authorities have maintained that Li Wangyang’s death was a suicide, but his family and friends have questioned this. Following domestic and international outcry, on 15 June Hunan Province police announced a task force had been set up to investigate Li Wangyang’s death.

Early in the morning of 6 June, Li Wangyang's sister's husband, Zhao Baozhu, received a telephone call from the hospital saying that Li Wangyang had committed suicide in his ward. He and his wife, Li Wangling, went to the hospital immediately and found Li Wangyang’s dead body in his hospital room. The Shaoyang city authorities have maintained that Li Wangyang committed suicide by hanging himself, but others have disputed this. Photographs taken on 6 June at the hospital showed him positioned standing upright, staring out the window and with his neck tied to the window frame by a strip of cloth. These photographs also showed his feet firmly on the ground and his face showing no signs of suffocation. His relatives have questioned how an almost blind man, unable to walk without assistance could have managed to hang himself.

The police took the body away later on 6 June, though Li Wangyang’s family and relatives protested that it was unclear whether the authorities would allow an independent post-mortem investigation. An autopsy was carried out on 8 June, without Li Wangyang’s family or their lawyer being present. The authorities cremated the body the next day. On 22 June, it was reported that the autopsy report was completed. On 12 July, the authorities published their findings insisting that Li committed suicide; however, the general public remain unconvinced.

Li Wangyang, who was released from prison in May 2011, was a prominent figure in the labour rights movement who had been persecuted by the Chinese authorities for the past two decades. In 1989, he was involved in setting up an independent workers' organization, the Shaoyang Workers' Autonomous Federation, to demand better working conditions for mine workers and other labourers. The same year, he was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for his involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. According to local sources, he was severely beaten by prison guards and held in solitary confinement. He was moved to a hospital in June 1996 to receive treatment but eight months later he was taken back to prison.

Li was released early in June 2000 because of his poor health. He began petitioning the authorities for compensation to cover the cost of medical treatment but in May 2001 he was rearrested after he went on hunger strike. He was given a 10-year sentence for “inciting subversion” and was finally freed in May 2011.

On 22 May 2012, Li gave an interview to a Hong Kong journalist where he spoke about the torture which had left him both blind and almost deaf and unable to move unaided. After this interview, the local authorities intensified their control, stationing more police at the hospital where Li Wangyang was staying.

Zhu was given a 10-day detention back in June 6, 2012 under the charge of “disrupting social order” after he distributed a photo of what many say document a 'staged suicide' on the Internet. However, the Hunan police decided to use a more serious allegation, inciting subversion of state power, for prosecuting him in July 25. For minor cases (inciting to sedition), the penalty is under 5 year-imprisonment, while for more serious cases (sedition), the penalty can be more than 10 years, such as the case of Nobel peace price winner Liu Xiaobo's 11-year-imprisonment sentence.

Who is Zhu Chengzhi?

A website, Free Chengzhi, has been launched to campaign for Zhu freedom since his first arrest in June. One of the website's contributor, Li Huaping offers more details about Zhu's life:

Zhu Chengzhi, a father figure, a Chinese citizen, was born in Shaoyao City at Hunan Province in 1950. I also know that he is of the same age of Li Wangyang, the late activist and one of China’s longest -serving political prisoners. Both Zhu and Li graduated from No. 4th Middle School of Shaoyang. If you meet Zhu in a street, he is one of the million ordinary elders of China. If you pay attention, you’ll notice this elder possesses wisdom.

Zhu Chengzhi speaks slowly. From the calm words, one can feel how firm his belief is. We chatted the inescapable fear: our land, air and water are all ruled by the only ideology. We agree that encouraging more and more people to overcome the fear is an important task. A most important task is that we should be role models. Through ourselves, we can encourage more people to overcome their fear and break silence. When talking about Li Wangyang’s sister Li Wangling, Zhu clearly stated that “The foremost important task for us is to help Wangling overcome her fear.”

Staged Suicide Evidence

According to Zhu's family, the Hunan government decided to punish him with sedition allegations after he refused to sign a document promising not to pursue investigations into Li's death. The official arrest document[zh] was issued on July 25:

刘晓原律师: Zhu Chengzhi only showed concern for Mr Li's death and shot a video, how can this be inciting subversion or a crime? The police in Shaoyang is too weak and too terrified… It is absolutely ridiculous to make such an allegation.

@艾丹誠：Today I feel very dreadful. Apart from the lingering flu, the most outrageous news is the arrest of Zhu Chengzhi. CCTVB [Note: the largest TV station in Hong Kong is Television Broadcast (TVB), netizens called it CCTV-B to mock at their self-censored practice] only shows the news about Liu Xiang's surgery. The news department is really good at polishing shoes. I don't care if Liu Xiang died. Zhu Chengzhi, please hang on. We have less and less righteous people like you. Will help out with the signature campaign of Sholarism [zh] after visiting the clinic.

On Twitter, activists are more vocal in expressing their support for Zhu [zh]:

@hesuoge He voiced out for those who he doesn't know. He voiced out for his old fellow classmate. He voiced out for humanity and justice. Now he is trapped in the grinding machine and we are on our way to join him. They want to prove their legitimacy with the Olympic golden award, but what happened to Zhu and others is proving that everything is sinful. Please remember to spread his name: Zhu-Cheng-Zhi.

‏@hu_jia July 25 is the last date of 7 days x 7 cycles of Li Wangyang's death [Note: the day when Li's soul is supposed to leave the human world according to Chinese folk belief]. To arrest Zhu Chengzhi under the allegation of “state sedition” shows that the Hunan legal system and party secretary Zhou Qiang are determined to jeopardize citizen rights and legal justice. The case of Li Wangyang can be merged into the “Li Wangyang-Zhu Chengzhi” case, using sedition to deprive citizens of their rights.

@wlh8964 Zhu Chengzhi is now 62. He doesn't like jail. Some cold blooded people said that he is pursuing fame. This is wrong. He just refuses to lie and defends his principles as a human being. The price of jail is too huge. Freedom is life. Even if you are not helping, don't make such sarcastic remarks.

@xiaocao07I changed my profile picture into Zhu Chengzhi's photo. He was jailed for shooting a video and photo of Li Wangyang's death and he pays the most precious price for a citizen reporter's right — Freedom!